Focus 12 adverbs and adjectives

Some adverbs are formed from an adjective + ly: happy- happily, etc. When an adjective already ends in –ly (e.g. cowardly, friendly, kindly, lively, lonely) we don’t add –ly to it to make an adverb. Instead we can use a prepositional phrase with fashion, manner or way:

He smiled at me in a friendly way.

She waved her hands around in a lively fashion.

Most participial adjectives ending in –ed don’t have an adverb form and we can use a similar prepositional phrase:

They rose to greet me in a subdued manner.

She walked around the room in an agitated way (or ... in agitation)

Some adverbs have two forms one ending -ly and the other not. We can sometimes use either of the two forms of the adverbs although the form ending in -ly is more usual in a formal style:

I’ll be there as quick(ly) as I can.

Try to sing loud(ly) in the last verse.

Other words like this include cheap(ly), clean(ly), fine(ly), slow(ly), thin(ly).

In other cases there is a difference in the meaning of the adverb with and without -ly:

She gave her time free (= for no money)

She gave her time freely (=willingly)

53

Do I have to change trains in Leeds? – No, you can go direct (= without stopping)

I’ll be with you directly (= very soon)

He saw Susan directly (= straight) ahead.

She worked really hard and passed her exams.

The telephone line was so bad, I could hardly (= only just) hear what he was saying.

He kicked the ball high over the goal.

Everyone thinks highly of her teaching (= they praise her for it).

They cut short their holiday when John became ill (= went home early).

The speaker will be arriving shortly (= soon).

The door was wide (= completely) open.

It won’t be difficult to get the book. It’s widely available (in many places).

Note: Remember that good is an adjective and well is an adverb.

I asked Francis to clean the car, and he did a good job /... and he did the job well.

However, well is also an adjective meaning “healthy”.

You’re not looking too well. Are you okay?

For more information see the corresponding topic in Part II.

EXERCISES

Ex. 1 Find the appropriate Russian equivalents for the English adverbs.

1) shortly a) вероятно

2) hardly b) внимательно

3) nearly c) упорно

4) late d) весьма

5

54

) hard e) почти

6) lately f) едва

7) sharp g) недавно

8) pretty h) поздно

9) closely i) ровно

10) likely j) вскоре

Ex.2 Are the underlined words adjectives or adverbs?

1. It’s getting late. 2. “The Times” is a daily paper. 3.She is a lovely, friendly, lively person, but she seems lonely. 4. It doesn’t seem likely that your children will be ugly. 5. The postman’s early. 6. She speaks English very well. 7. We have monthly meetings. 8. Don’t talk so loudly. 9. If you have got a fast car, why don’t you drive fast?10. If you want me to work hard, you’ll have to pay me . 11. Milk is delivered daily. 12. The train arrived late. 13. I can’t stand loud music. 14. Don’t be silly. 15. She’s becoming hard to live with. 16. I’m very well, thanks. 17. That was a cowardly thing to do. 18. Curare is a deadly poison. 19. I get paid monthly. 20. Try to come early.

Ex. 3 State whether the italicized words are adjectives or adverbs.

1

55

. He came close to Godfrey and breathed into his waist­coat. 2. He was also his closest companion and his closest friend. 3. Our sympathy had always been close, and was growing closer as we grew older. 4. He had worked very hard, it would be too cruel if all that industry were futile. 5. I don't want to be too hard on you. 6. His hair was straight and long. 7. He sat up straight in his chair, and asked what I wanted to see him about. 8. Could you show me the nearest way to the Red Square? 9. She turned full on me, when I was sitting, near the window with my back to the sunlight. 10. First I considered myself to be stand­ing high on a very high mountain with a straight wide mouth; and I pulled my mouth straight and wide, I made my eyes close down at the far corners, widening at the inner corners. 11. Would you mind telling me how long you're staying up here? 12. It's simply that I find these long si­lences intolerable. 13. I went further out in the lake to pass it. The lake was much narrower now. 14. He did not ask any further questions. 15. I do think you might have caught an earlier train from Cambridge. 16. You might have come a little bit earlier. 17. I'm a better singer than he now. 18. I think we should work far better to get rid of such mis­takes. 19. I'm afraid I can't walk very fast. 20. My watch is ten minutes fast

Ex.4 Complete the sentences with the given words.

Beautiful – beautifully, calm – calmly, cheap – cheaply, clear – clearly, slow – slowly, soft – softly, terrible – terribly, unhappy – unhappily

1. I suppose I should be nervous, but I’ve never felt so ... in my life. 2. I suppose we’ll never see each other again, she said ... . 3. I haven’t got much money: if I travel this year, I’ll have to do it ... . 4. The house is small and rather simple, but Anne has decorated it .. . 5. This soup tastes ... . 6. He spoke very ... , but she heard every word like a shout. 7. Good computers are getting quite ... now. 8. The train was very ... ; perhaps they were working on the like. 9. She sat there ... lying about everything she had done. 10. This is a ... house; I enjoy looking at it every time I walk past. 11. Her hair is so lovely and ... – like a baby’s hair. 12. This hand writing isn’t very ... ; can you read it any better than me? 13. The team played ... last Saturday. 14. Time seemed to go so ... . When would he arrive? 15. He looks really ... . I wonder what’s wrong. 16. Mary does not speak very ...: I often have trouble understanding her.

Ex.5 Choose the right word.

1

56

. August is (amazing /amazingly) good with animals. 2. As soon as I saw him I was (sure/surely) he had been drinking. 3. Do you think that’s a (real/really) diamond in her ring? 4. He was wearing a (true/truly) astonishing tie. 5. I felt her arm (gentle/gently) to see if any books were broken. 6. I read an (amazing /amazingly) think in the newspaper this morning. 7. John was (wonderful/wonderfully) kind to me when I came to this country. 8. Kerth seemed (gentle/gently), but there was something cruel underneath. 9. One leg of the chair was (slight/slightly) damaged. 10. Sarah drives a (real/really beautifully restored 1914 sports car. 11. She looked at me (kind/kindly), but didn’t say anything. 12. The door was (bad/badly) painted. 13. The food was wonderful/wonderfully), but the service was (awful/awfully). 14. The room is (clever/cleverly) organized so three of us can work there. 15. The job was (surprising/surprisingly) easy. 16. He’s acted (unbelievable/unbelievably) stupidly in the past year.

Ex. 6 Choose the correct answer.

1. I haven’t seen her (late/lately). 2. Susannah looks very (angry/angrily). 3. The policeman walked (slow/slowly). 4. The bride wore a (beautiful/beautifully) dress. 5. I don’t speak English as (good/well) as you do. 6. She smiled (sad/sadly) and walked away. 7. Are the trains (usual/usually) so (late/lately)? 8. I could hear her singing (flat/flatly0 during the aria. 9. His teacher thinks (high/highly) of his musical ability. 10. He spoke (free/freely) and without fear of criticism. 11. The advertising campaign was a (complete/completely) disaster. 12. I can see (clear/clearly) now that the rain has gone. 13. Don’t swim here! The water is too (deep/deeply). 14. Look (close/closely) at this manuscript. It may be valuable. 15. Harry played (bad/badly) in the music competition. 16. It is impossible to take a (direct/directly) flight to Tokyo from here. 17. Nina tried (had/hardly) to pass the test but failed. 18. The lecture was in fact, quite (short/shortly). 19. There were (hard/hardly) any people I knew at the wedding. 20. We will inform you of our decision (short/shortly).

Ex. 7 Fill in the blanks with the given words.

Close right hard high deep pretty straight fast ill easy

1

57

. They had to dig... to get oil. 2. His position was ... uncertain. 3. This is the ... way to do it. 4. When I came he was ... asleep. 5. Please, keep ... to the subject. 6. He was walking ... .7. His ... ambitions are well known to everybody. 8. He dived ... into the water and soon emerged at the opposite side of the river. 9. the baby is as ... as a flower. 10. I saw him at a ... distance. 11. He had to study ... to be the first. 12. He is a ... person to speak to. 13. We can’t expect a ... answer from him. 14. Take it ... ! Everything will be all right. 15. They live ... around the corner. 16. The engine is ... to operate. 17. You shouldn’t speak ... about people. 18. This athlete can jump ... . 19. Tell me ... what you think. 20. She looks quite ... .

Ex. 8 Choose the appropriate adverb.

1. He lives quite (near/nearly). 2. You’ve come too (late/lately). 4. It is (pretty/prettily) difficult to speak to her. 5. We have seen very little of you (late/lately). 6. She id always (pretty/prettily) dressed. 7. He (near/nearly) seized the rail. 8. I used to work (hard/hardly) to get everything I have got now. 9. His suggestion seemed (high/highly) improbable. 10. Her house stood (close/closely) to the river. 11. The wind was blowing so (hardly/hard) that I could (hard/hardly) walk. 12. The actress (justly/just) deserved the prize. 13. The plane flew (high/highly), we could (hard/hardly) see it. 14. (Short/shortly) after graduating I moved to the capital. 15. I could see the house door which was (wide/widely) open.

Ex. 9 Choose the appropriate word.

1. In spite of the coming danger he remained (calm/calmly). 2. Though the dish smelt (good/well), he refused to eat saying he was not hungry. 3. She looked at me (angry/angrily) and told me to leave the room. 4. She spends a lot of money on her clothes but they always look (cheap/cheaply). 5. have you seen him? – Yes, he looks (good/well) but he says he feels (bad/badly). 6. His cough sounds (terrible/terribly). He should see a doctor. 7. Be (quite/quietly). Stop talking, behave yourselves. 8. The situation looks (bad/badly). We must do something. 9. He seemed to me a bit (strange/strangely) today. 10. The fish tastes (awful/awfully). I won’t eat it. 11. He looked (good/well) in his new suit. 12.They drove under a (low/lowly) bridge. 13. She has traveled (wide/widely). 14. She loved his (dear/dearly). 15. We’ll be there (short/shortly). 16.Three-toed sloths live (deep/deeply) in the Amazon forest.

E

58

x. 10 Circle the correct form in parentheses.

1. Rita plays the violin (good/well). 2. That is an (intense/intensely) novel. 3. The sun is shining (bright/brightly). 4. The girls speak (fluent/fluently) French. 5. The boys speak Spanish (fluent/fluently). 6. The table has a (smooth/smoothy) surface. 7. We must figure our income tax returns (accurate/accurately). 8. We don't like to drink (bitter/bitterly) tea. 9. The plane will arrive (soon/soonly). 10. He had an accident because he was driving too (fast/fastly).

Ex. 11 Choose the correct word in brackets.

1. The birds were flying (high, highly) and low. 2. He was (high, highly) intelligent. 3. He had found out that Sawbridge's family had lived (close,closely) to mine. 4. Philip, smoking a cheap cigar, observed Glutton (close, closely). 5. Meanwhile Martin's own reward was coming (near, nearly). 6. We were (near, nearly) smashed up on the shore sev­eral times. 7. I'm sure you know how (deep, deeply) I sym­pathize with you. 8. With her beautiful expressive eyes she looked (deep, deeply) into his. 9. During his last year at St Luke's Philip had to work (hard, hardly). 10. I need (hard, hardly) say that I agree with you. 11. Suddenly she stopped (short, shortly), and disengaged herself from her compan­ion. 12. He was joined (short, shortly) by a stewardess, 13. They stick you with everything if you don't look (sharp, sharply). 14. He looked at her (sharp, sharply). 15. "Open your eyes (wide, widely)," he ordered gently and examined each eye in turn in the bright pencil of light. 16. This word is (wide, widely) used in spoken English. 17. The officer leaned down and looked (close, closely) at Ralph. 18. There were three desks, one with an electric typewriter, and all with papers, books, and files piled (high, highly). 19. His heart beat so that he could (hard, hardly) breathe. 20. He drank long and (deep, deeply). 21. He had an eye for colour which was more (high, highly) trained than that of anyone in the department. 22. Ralph said nothing more, but waited while the procession came (near, nearly). 23. He was (deep, deeply) moved. 24. She suddenly felt that he was (wide, widely) awake. 25. The doctor answered him (short, shortly).

.Ex. 12 Open the brackets. Use adjectives or adverbs.

59

Lan did not want to defend herself (public). She just walked away (sad) after the other students had called her a "gook", but when they could not see her, she started to cry (quiet). She had not expected such a (rude) word from them. She had been (nice) to them. She had not spoken (bad) of them or their country, al­though life here was very (hard) for her family. Why had they attacked her? For her it was (unimaginable) to be so (hard) on somebody. She asked herself, "Will we ever be able to live (happy) in their country?"

Ex. 13 Find the mistakes and correct them.

1. She speaks French fluent. 2. I think you behaved very cowardlily. 3. Everyone says that he is non enourmous rich. 4. We never catch them up if you walk as slow as that. 5. She turned to him astonishedly. I didn’t believe you, she said. 6. Wearing a white shirt and new suit, he thought he looked really well. 7. He playes the guitar remarkable good for his age. 8. Chop the herbs finaly and sprinkle them on top of the pasta. 9. He stepped back and looked satisfiedly at the newly-painted door.

Ex. 14 Choose the right word.

1. I don’t like horror films. I think they are (frightening/frightened) and (boring/bored). 2. Don’t look so (surprising/surprised) decision but we had no other way out. 3. It was a (tiring/tired) journey. I wish I hadn’t had it. I feel completely (exhausting/exhausted) after it. 4. The football match was (disappointing/disappointed). Our team lost the game and we left the stadium quite (disappointing/disappointed). 5. He can’t remember his pupils’ names. It seemed funny at first, but now it is rather (embarrassing/embarrassed). 6. So far as Mrs. Brown was concerned she did not seem to be in the least (embarrassing/embarrassed). 7. He did not come and she looked rather (worrying/worried). 8. The rise in crime is (depressing/depressed). 9. The pictures made a (depressing/depressed) impression on him. 10. She is not (satisfying/satisfied) with her position.

E

60

x.15 Translate into English paying attention to the adjectives and adverbs in bold type.

1.У него сильно болит голова. Он едва может говорить. 2. Почему ты каждый день опаздываешь на работу? Ты, наверное, встаешь слишком поздно. 3. Как ты себя чувствуешь сегодня? – Спасибо, хорошо. 4. Ты говоришь слишком быстро. Они тебя не понимают. 5. Я люблю ходить в ресторан. Еда там всегда вкусная. 6. Он не очень хорошо себя чувствует сейчас. 7. Он упорно готовится к экзаменам. 8. Я очень устал. Я плохо спал вчера ночью. 9. Он бегает очень быстро. 10. Я не видел его последнее время. 11. Ну же, Ник! Почему ты всегда ешь так медленно? 12 Как приятно пахнут твои духи! 13. Его работа очень трудная. Ей приходится упорно работать. Она едва успевает поесть. 14. Поезд опоздал, и поэтому я приехал домой поздно. 15. У нее беглый английский. Она говорит по-английский очень хорошо.